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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. present — the time now
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. present — a gift
  8. fall — the season
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chip — for betting
  19. present — there
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com